Hosted at the National Gallery of Victoria, the Melbourne Winter Masterpiece exhibition – CARTIER – featured around 400 extraordinary tiaras, watches, and assorted jewellery linked to iconic trend-setters such as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Rihanna, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol.
The exhibition opened on 12 June and closed on 4 October. During that time, more than 263,000 visitors attended the showcase, with the organisers reporting that at least 20 per cent came from interstate.
The exhibition was created by London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, in partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria and Cartier. Director Tony Ellwood said the showcase was a huge success.
“We’re proud to have been able to share this exhibition with more than 260,000 visitors. Maison Cartier is world-renowned for their excellence in jewellery design and innovation – a reputation fostered by the three brothers Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier.
“We’re delighted that their family story of transformation, artistry and entrepreneurship has resonated so profoundly with NGV audiences.”
“We’re indebted to our partner institution, the V&A, for their support of this Australian-exclusive exhibition, as well as key lender maison Cartier, whose generosity ensured that so many of the heritage pieces on display were able to travel to Australia for the very first time.”
Senior curator Amanda Dunsmore wrote a piece for Jeweller, describing the crucial lessons the exhibition offered today's manufacturers, designers, and retailers about the jewellery business.
"Perhaps the greatest lesson is that Cartier's success wasn't built on design alone. Creativity, technical expertise and commercial leadership worked together. It’s a combination every successful jewellery business continues to rely upon today," she said.
The exhibition included works from the V&A Museum London, the Cartier Collection, and international loans from the British Museum, Qatar Museums, Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, the Collections of HSH the Prince of Monaco, the Al Thani Collection, and other private lenders. The exhibition also featured archival material drawn from the Cartier Archives in Paris, London and New York.
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